RTD officials delayed any decision late Tuesday on a plan to redevelop Denver’s historic Union Station.
Meeting in executive session, the transit agency’s board heard its staff recommend its preferred proposal for the building, which will serve as the centerpiece of FasTracks, the region’s tax-funded $6.5 billion transit plan. But the board didn’t immediately accept the recommendation.
Two teams have been vying to redevelop the building.
The staff favored a plan by the Union Station Alliance, led by Sage Hospitality’s Walter Isenberg and longtime Lower Downtown developer Dana Crawford, which is seeking to turn the building into a 130-room boutique hotel.
The team says its plan will pay the Regional Transportation District about $65 million over the 60-year term of the lease and generate $130 million in tax revenue.
The team plans to spend $48 million on the project, which also would include local and national tenants, with everything from quick-service restaurants to gourmet grab-and-go and a 24-hour diner serving travelers passing through the station.
The project would be financed with $11.5 million in equity, $7.5 million from the sale of tax credits, 50 percent debt and $17 million from RTD.
Its competitor, Union Station Neighborhood Co., wants to fill the station with a market, a bar, other retail uses and office space.
The group says its plan will generate $42.5 million for RTD over the 60 years it leases the building from the agency.
The team has identified $22 million in available funding sources that would enable work on the historic station to start immediately. Those include the $17 million from RTD and a $2 million equity investment from the developer. It also is lining up $3 million in historic tax credits.
Both teams say their projects would be ready by the time the station opens in 2014.
If the RTD board accepts the staff recommendation, it will then begin negotiating a development contract with the selected team.
The expected decision would be a major milestone in efforts to turn the building into a public-transit hub.
In 2001, RTD partnered with Denver, the state and Denver Regional Council of Governments, spending $50 million to get the Union Station building and surrounding 19.5 acres into public ownership. In 2006, Union Station Neighborhood Co. was selected as the master developer for that property.
Several years ago, RTD went through a process to determine what the goals for the building should be. Topping the list is ensuring the building maintains its original purpose as a transportation hub with the central train room as a focal point. It also must be a vibrant place where people want to hang out.
Margaret Jackson: 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com
